CN111201479B

CN111201479B - Efficient gesture-based ophthalmic device and method for human-to-ophthalmic device communication

Info

Publication number: CN111201479B
Application number: CN201880066271.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: S.李; C.古铁雷兹; T.英格利什; B.金
Original assignee: Verily Life Sciences LLC
Current assignee: Twenty Twenty Twenty Treatment Co ltd
Priority date: 2017-10-10
Filing date: 2018-10-02
Publication date: 2022-09-27
Anticipated expiration: 2038-10-02
Also published as: US11002990B2; WO2019074718A1; EP3695271A1; US20210364822A1; US11668956B2; CN111201479A; US20190107734A1; EP3695271A4

Abstract

An eye-worn device including an eyelid occlusion sensor is provided. Eyelid occlusion sensors are used to detect blinking gestures, squinting, saccades or sights, blinks, or other eye-based gestures generated by a user. Based on the detected pose, the optical power of an adjustable lens of the device may be changed, or some other operation may be performed by the eye-worn device. Such an operation may include switching the power of the lens between the first power level and the second power level as a result of the user squinting, looking down, or performing some other gesture. Additionally or alternatively, such operation may include setting the optical power of the lens to a first optical power unless the user is looking down, in which case the optical power of the lens may be set to a second optical power.

Description

Efficient gesture-based ophthalmic device and method for human-to-ophthalmic device communication

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 62/570,282 filed on 10/2017, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present application relates generally to ophthalmic devices.

Background

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

Eye-mounted devices may include sensors, adjustable lenses, electronics, or other components configured to provide a controllable optical power to obtain health-related information (e.g., based on the flow rate or oxygenation level of blood in the vasculature of the eye), or to provide some other functionality to the user wearing the eye-mounted device. Such an eye-mounted device may comprise sensor means configured to detect a physiological property of the wearer and/or an environmental property of the wearer. Additionally or alternatively, such eye-worn devices may include a liquid crystal lens, an electrowetting lens, or some other type of adjustable lens to provide a controllable optical power to the eye. In some examples, the eye-worn device may be in the form of a contact lens including a sensor arrangement configured to detect a property of interest.

Disclosure of Invention

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide an ophthalmic apparatus, comprising: (i) an eyelid occlusion sensor; (ii) an adjustable lens; and (iii) a controller. The controller includes electronics to perform operations comprising: (a) detecting an output of an eyelid occlusion sensor at a plurality of time points; (b) determining, based on the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor, that the degree of occlusion of the eye increases during the first time period; (c) determining that the detected eyelid obstruction sensor output at a first point in time differs from the detected eyelid obstruction sensor output at a second point in time by less than a specified amount, wherein the second point in time is after the first period of time; and (d) adjusting the optical power of the adjustable lens in response to determining that the output of the detected eyelid obstruction sensor at the first point in time differs from the output of the detected eyelid obstruction sensor at the second point in time by less than a specified amount.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide an ophthalmic apparatus, comprising: (i) an eyelid occlusion sensor; (ii) an adjustable lens; and (iii) a controller. The controller includes electronics to perform operations comprising: (a) detecting an output of an eyelid occlusion sensor at a plurality of time points; (b) determining, at a first point in time, based on the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor, that a level of noise in the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor during a specified period of time prior to the first point in time is below a specified level; (c) determining that the detected eyelid occlusion sensor output at a first point in time exceeds a first threshold; and (d) adjusting the optical power of the adjustable lens in response to determining that the detected eyelid obstruction sensor output at the first point in time exceeds the first threshold and that a noise level in the eyelid obstruction sensor output during a specified period of time prior to the first point in time is below a specified level.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide an ophthalmic apparatus, comprising: (i) an eyelid occlusion sensor; (ii) an adjustable lens; and (iii) a controller. The controller includes electronics to perform operations comprising: (a) detecting an output of an eyelid occlusion sensor at a plurality of time points; (b) determining that a first gesture has occurred based on the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor; (c) in response to determining that the first posture has occurred, switching an optical power of the adjustable lens between a first optical power and a second optical power, wherein the first optical power is different from the second optical power; (d) determining that a second gesture has occurred based on the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor; and (e) in response to determining that the second pose has occurred, setting the optical power of the adjustable lens to the first optical power.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method comprising: (i) detecting an output of an eyelid occlusion sensor at a plurality of time points; (ii) determining that a first gesture has occurred based on the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor; (iii) in response to determining that the first posture has occurred, switching an optical power of the adjustable lens between a first optical power and a second optical power, wherein the first optical power is different from the second optical power; (iv) determining that a second gesture has occurred based on the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor; and (v) in response to determining that the second posture has occurred, setting the optical power of the adjustable lens to the first optical power.

These and other aspects, advantages, and alternatives will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art by reading the following detailed description, with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1A is a top view of an example eye-worn ophthalmic device.

Fig. 1B is an external view of the example eye-worn ophthalmic apparatus shown in fig. 1A.

Fig. 2A is a side cross-sectional view of an example eye-worn ophthalmic device when mounted to a corneal surface of an eye.

Fig. 2B is an example equivalent electronic circuit of elements of the device shown in fig. 2A.

Fig. 2C is a side cross-sectional view of the example eye-worn ophthalmic device and eye shown in fig. 2A, wherein the eye-worn ophthalmic device is partially occluded by the eyelid.

Fig. 2D is an example equivalent electronic circuit of elements of the device shown in fig. 2C.

Fig. 2E is a side cross-sectional view of the example eye-worn ophthalmic device and eye shown in fig. 2A, with the eye facing down such that the eye-worn ophthalmic device is partially occluded by the eyelid.

FIG. 3 shows an example signal generated using an eyelid occlusion sensor.

Fig. 4 shows an example signal generated using an eyelid occlusion sensor.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram of an example system including an ophthalmic device in wireless communication with an external reader.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an example method.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an example method.

FIG. 8A is a flow chart of an example method.

Fig. 8B is a flow chart of an example method.

Detailed Description

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, like reference numerals generally identify like components unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the scope of the subject matter presented here. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated herein.

I. Overview

In various applications, it may be beneficial to be able to control the optical power (e.g., diopter, focal length) of the lens. For example, the ability to control the optical power of a contact lens or spectacles may allow such devices to compensate for the diminished or lost ability of a person's eyes to naturally adapt. Accommodation is the process by which the optical properties of a person's eye (e.g., the focal length of the lens of the eye) are controlled to allow the eye to focus on objects at different distances from the eye at different points in time. The ability of a person's eye to accommodate may be diminished by age, completely lost by removal of the lens (e.g., as a result of cataract surgery), or diminished or lost for some other reason.

The adjustable lens may have a controllable optical power (e.g., diopter, focal length). The optical power of such an adjustable lens may be mechanically controllable, for example, by applying mechanical force or pressure to deform one or more refractive, reflective or diffractive elements of the lens, by applying hydraulic or pneumatic pressure to change the volume or geometry of an element by increasing or decreasing the pressure of a fluid in the volume or a fluid within a control volume, or by applying some other mechanical force(s) to control or change the optical power of the adjustable lens. Additionally or alternatively, the adjustable lens may be electronically controllable, for example, by applying an electric or magnetic field to change the optical properties of the material of the lens, by applying an electric field or current to control the geometry of a volume of fluid within the lens, by applying an electric field to control the refractive index of one or more elements of the lens, or by applying some other electric field(s) or force(s) to control or change the optical power of the adjustable lens.

Such adjustable lenses may be incorporated into ophthalmic devices designed to be placed on or within the eye and provide a controllable optical power to the eye. Such an ophthalmic device may be an eye-worn device, such as a contact lens. Alternatively, such an ophthalmic device may be an implantable device, such as a device configured to be implanted within a lens capsule of an eye. Such ophthalmic devices may include one or more controllers, sensors, or other electronic components to facilitate operation of the adjustable lens to provide a controllable optical power to the eye in which the device is installed and/or implanted. The power provided can be controlled to compensate for the reduced ability of the eye to accommodate. For example, the provided optical power may be controlled to facilitate viewing near objects when the eyes are looking at objects near the eyes, and to facilitate viewing distant objects when the eyes are looking at objects far from the eyes. The ophthalmic device may include sensors to detect the distance of the object from the device, the steering (vergence) of the eye relative to the other eye, the pupil diameter, or some other physical variable that may be related to the optical power that the ophthalmic device may provide (where it may be beneficial).

In some examples, the ophthalmic device may include one or more sensors configured to detect the degree of obstruction of the sensor(s) and/or ophthalmic device by one or both of the wearer's eyelids, or some other process related to gestures that the user may produce using their eye(s). Such occlusion may include occlusion of the sensor(s) due to the wearer squinting or blinking. Additionally or alternatively, such occlusion may include occlusion of the sensor(s) due to the wearer looking up, down, or in some other direction such that the sensor is located below the eyelid or other ancillary tissue of the eye. The degree of occlusion may be sensed by an eyelid occlusion sensor and used to operate the adjustable lens. For example, the degree of occlusion may be sensed and used to determine that the user has blinked, squinted, looked down, changed the direction of gaze, or made some other voluntary, reflex, or other movement of their eyes and/or eyelids. Such movement may form an element of one or more eye-based gestures that may be detected based on the output of the sensor. Based on this detected movement, the power of the adjustable lens may be controlled.

In some examples, the ophthalmic device may detect that the wearer is looking down using an eyelid occlusion sensor and responsively set the optical power of the adjustable lens to facilitate viewing of near objects (e.g., to facilitate reading). In response to detecting that the wearer is no longer looking down, the optical power of the adjustable lens may be set to facilitate viewing of distant objects. Alternatively, the power of the adjustable lens may remain set to facilitate viewing of nearby objects until another condition is detected (e.g., the wearer squints, looks down, blinks, or performs some other movement within a specified time period). Additionally or alternatively, the degree of occlusion of the sensor may be detected and used to detect that the wearer is squinting. The optical power of the adjustable lens may be set to facilitate viewing of nearby objects (e.g., to facilitate reading) in response to detecting that the wearer has squinted within a specified period of time. In response to detecting that the wearer again squints, looks down, blinks, or performs some other movement, the optical power of the adjustable lens may be set to facilitate viewing distant objects. Additional or alternative movements and/or eye-based gestures may be detected using such sensors and may be used to operate the adjustable lens via a variety of different user interface schemes.

Example eye-worn ophthalmic device

The adjustable lens and eyelid occlusion sensor as described herein may be incorporated into an eye-worn device or some other ophthalmic device. Such an ophthalmic device may additionally include electronics (e.g., one or more sensors, controllers, batteries, antennas, or other elements) that are encapsulated with the adjustable lens within a rigid gas permeable polymer layer, a soft polymer layer, or some other encapsulating material. Such packaging may provide protection and/or structure to the lens and electronics, provide an overall shape or external mounting surface for the eye-worn device and/or implantable device, and/or provide some other benefit. An ophthalmic device including an adjustable lens may be configured or operated to provide a controllable optical power to the eye and/or to provide some other application (e.g., sensing a wearer's blood oxygen level or other physiological parameter, detecting blinking or other user input or behavior, providing power to a device implanted within the eye).

Note that aspects of the example ophthalmic devices described herein (e.g., eyelid occlusion sensors, controllers, power sources, adjustable lenses, methods of operation) can be applied, without limitation, to eye-worn devices, implantable devices, or otherwise configured ophthalmic devices configured to provide controllable optical power or some other benefit to the eye.

The polymer layer (or other material) within which the elements of the adjustable lens (one or more lenses, lens cavities, electrodes, immiscible fluid volumes, and/or liquid crystal volumes), electronics, sensors, interconnect lines, and/or other components are encapsulated may be formed to be removably mounted directly to the eye in a manner compatible with eyelid movement (e.g., the polymer layer may be formed as a soft or hard contact lens). Alternatively, such a polymer layer (e.g., a rigid gas permeable polymer layer) may be embedded within some additional encapsulation material (e.g., within a hydrogel or other soft or rigid polymer layer formed to fit to the eye), and/or may be formed to fit to or within a soft polymer layer configured to fit to the eye in combination with a polymer layer containing an electro-active lens.

Fig. 1A is a top view of an example eye-worn ophthalmic device 110. Fig. 1B is an external view of the example eye-worn ophthalmic apparatus shown in fig. 1A. Note that the relative sizes in fig. 1A and 1B are not necessarily to scale, but have been drawn for explanatory purposes only in describing the arrangement of the example eye-mounted ophthalmic device 110. The ophthalmic-worn device 110 includes electronics 111 embedded within a polymer layer 120. The electronic device 111 comprises an adjustable lens 121. The components of the electronic device 111 may be embedded (e.g., completely encapsulated) within a rigid gas permeable polymer layer or other material to provide mechanical stability to the electronic device 111, to prevent exposure of the components of the electronic device 111 to water or other substances in the environment of the ophthalmic-worn ophthalmic apparatus 110, or to provide some other benefit. The polymer layer 120 may include such a hard, breathable polymer layer; alternatively, a stiff, breathable polymer layer may be embedded within polymer layer 120 (e.g., within the soft hydrogel of polymer layer 120).

Polymer layer 120 may be shaped as a curved circular disk. The polymer layer 120, elements of the electronic device 111 (e.g., lenses, lens cavities, electrodes, liquid crystals, immiscible fluids), or other components of the ophthalmic-on-eye device 110 can be composed of substantially transparent material(s) to allow incident light to be transmitted to the eye when the ophthalmic-on-eye device 110 is mounted to the eye. The polymer layer 120 may be a biocompatible oxygen permeable material similar to the materials used in optometry to form soft vision correcting and/or cosmetic contact lenses, such as silicone hydrogel. Additionally or alternatively, the rigid gas permeable polymer layer encapsulating one or more lenses or other elements of the adjustable lens 121 and/or the electronic device 111 may be composed of a biocompatible oxygen permeable material (e.g., silicon acrylate, fluorosilicone acrylate) or some other rigid gas permeable polymer. One or more lenses or other elements of the polymer layer 120 and/or the accommodating lens 121 may include additional compounds or materials to provide some function, such as blocking the transmission of ultraviolet light to the eye through the eye-worn ophthalmic device 110. Further, the polymer layer 120 may include a surface coating configured to provide some functionality, such as a hydrophilic coating or some other coating to increase wettability and/or comfort.

The polymer layer 120 can be formed with one side having a concave surface 126 adapted to fit over the corneal surface of an eye. The opposite side of the disk may have a convex surface 124 that does not interfere with eyelid movement when the eye-worn ophthalmic device 110 is mounted to the eye. A circular outer edge 128 connects concave surface 124 and convex surface 126. The ophthalmic-worn device 110 may have a size similar to a vision-correcting and/or cosmetic contact lens, such as a diameter of approximately 1 centimeter, and a thickness of about 0.1 to about 0.5 millimeters. However, the diameter and thickness values are provided for explanatory purposes only. In some embodiments, the size of the ophthalmic eye-worn device 110 may be selected according to the size and/or shape of the corneal surface of the wearer's eye. The shape of the ophthalmic eye-worn device 110 can be specified with curvature, astigmatism, or other properties to provide a specified optical power to the eye. Additionally or alternatively, the shape of the ophthalmic eye-worn device 110 may be specified to apply a force to the cornea of the eye in which the ophthalmic eye-worn device 110 is installed, for example to correct a keratoconus or according to some other application.

The polymer layer 120 may be formed in a curved shape in various ways. For example, techniques similar to those used to form vision correcting contact lenses may be used to form the soft polymer layer 120. These methods may include molding, machining, turning, polishing, or other processes. When the ophthalmic eye-worn device 110 is mounted on the eye, the convex surface 124 faces outward to the ambient environment and the concave surface 126 faces inward to the corneal surface. Convex surface 124 may thus be considered an exterior top surface of eye-worn ophthalmic device 110, while concave surface 126 may be considered an interior bottom surface. The "top" view shown in fig. 1A faces convex surface 124. From the top view shown in fig. 1A, the outer perimeter 122 near the outer perimeter of the curved disk curves into the page, while the central region near the center of the disk, corresponding to the location of the electro-active lens 121, curves out of the page.

The electronic device 111 is embedded within the polymer layer 120. The electronic device 111 comprises a central adjustable lens 121 surrounded by a substrate 130. The adjustable lens 121 and the substrate 130 may be embedded such that the substrate 130 is positioned along the outer perimeter of the polymer layer 120, away from the central region of the eye-worn ophthalmic device 110. Substrate 130 does not interfere with vision because it is too close to the eye to be in focus (in focus) and is positioned away from the central region of adjustable lens 121 where incident light is transmitted through adjustable lens 121 to the light-sensing portion of the eye. Furthermore, the substrate 130 may be formed of a transparent material to further mitigate any impact on visual perception. In some examples, the substrate 130 may be formed from and/or placed on elements of the adjustable lens 121. For example, a particular lens or other element of the adjustable lens 121 may include a peripheral region on which electronics may be placed and/or metal traces, electrodes, antennas, interconnects, or other conductive elements (e.g., conductive elements for electrically coupling the electronics to the electrodes or other elements of the adjustable lens 121) may be formed.

The substrate 130 may be shaped as a flat circular ring (e.g., a disk with a central hole). The planar surface (e.g., along the radial width) of the substrate 130 is a platform for mounting electronic devices such as chips (e.g., via flip-chip mounting) and for patterning conductive material (e.g., via deposition techniques) to form electrodes (e.g., anodes and/or cathodes of electrochemical cells, electrodes for detecting impedance of tear film or other tissue, electrodes of electrochemical sensors, contact electrodes for making electrical contact with leads of the adjustable lens 121), conductive loops (e.g., conductive loops of an eyelid occlusion sensor), antennas, and/or connections. The substrate 130, the adjustable lens 121, and/or the polymer layer 120 may be approximately cylindrically symmetric about a common central axis. Substrate 130 may be implemented in a variety of different form factors.

The conductive loop 170, the controller 150, and the sensor 160 are disposed on the embedded substrate 130. Controller 150 may be a chip including logic elements configured to detect occlusion of the ophthalmic device using conductive loop 170 and/or sensor 160, receive wireless power using conductive loop 170, send and/or receive wireless communications using conductive loop 170, operate sensor 160, and provide controllable optical power using adjustable lens 121. The controller 150 is electrically connected to the conductive loop 170, the sensor 160, and the adjustable lens 121 (e.g., a conductive lead or electrode of the adjustable lens 121) by an interconnect 151 that may be disposed in whole or in part on the substrate 130. Additional or alternative components may be placed on the substrate 130, for example, an electrochemical cell may be provided on the substrate 130 to power the eye-worn ophthalmic device 110.

The interconnect lines 151, conductive loops 170, and any conductive electrodes (e.g., anodes and cathodes of electrochemical cells, electrodes of impedance sensors configured to detect impedance through tear film or other tissue, conductive electrodes for electrochemical ion sensors, etc.) may be formed of conductive materials patterned on the substrate 130 by processes for precisely patterning such materials (such as deposition, photolithography, etc.). In embodiments where the substrate 130 is part of the lens or other element(s) of the adjustable lens 121, the electrode(s) of the adjustable lens 121 may be formed on the lens or other element(s) of the adjustable lens 121 via such a process.

The conductive material patterned on the substrate 130 may be, for example, gold, platinum, palladium, titanium, carbon, aluminum, copper, silver chloride, a conductor formed of a noble material, a metal, a combination of these, or the like. The electrode(s) of the adjustable lens 121 may be electrically coupled to the controller 150 or other electronic components of the eye-worn ophthalmic device 110 via such interconnect lines 151 and/or via wires, conductive adhesive, liquid crystal, or some other interconnecting means.

Sensor 160 may include various components configured to detect one or more physical variables of interest (e.g., light level, bioelectric field, spectrum received from the vasculature of the eye). In some examples, the sensed variable may be related to one or more parameters of the body (e.g., an amount of blood in a portion of the subcutaneous vasculature, an oxygenation status of the blood, a degree to which the eyelid occludes sensor 160), an environmental property of the device (e.g., ambient lighting, atmospheric pressure, temperature), a property of the device (e.g., acceleration, orientation), or to detecting some other information. These sensors may include accelerometers, electrodes (e.g., electrodes of an electrophysiological sensor configured to detect an electrooculogram, an electromyogram, or some other bioelectrical signal), light detectors, thermometers, gyroscopes, capacitive sensors, pressure sensors, strain gauges, light emitters, microphones, or other elements configured to detect one or more physical variables related to a property of interest. The variable detected using the sensor 160 may be used to control the power of the adjustable lens 121. For example, the detected variable may be related to the steering of the eye (e.g., relative to the other eye), the distance between the ophthalmic device 110 and the object in the wearer's environment, the electrical activity of the ciliary muscle or other muscles of the eye, the pupil diameter, the degree of occlusion of the ophthalmic device 110, or some other variable(s) that may be used to determine, for example, the desired optical power provided to the wearer's eye.

The eye-worn ophthalmic device 110 includes an eyelid occlusion sensor. The eyelid occlusion sensor includes one or more sensors that generate an output (e.g., voltage, current, binary digital value) related to the degree of occlusion of the one or more sensors and/or the eye-worn ophthalmic device 110 by one or more eyelids or other tissue of or proximate to the eye. Such an eyelid occlusion sensor may include one or both of sensor 160 or conductive loop 170, or may include additional or alternative elements. For example, the eyelid obstruction sensor may include a photosensitive element (e.g., photodiode, photoresistor) of the sensor 160 and may operate to generate an output related to the degree of obstruction to the sensor 160 by using the photosensitive element to detect the intensity or other property of light received by the photosensitive element. In some examples, the eye-worn ophthalmic device 110 can include additional photosensitive elements (e.g., placed at respective locations around the substrate 130), and the eyelid obstruction sensor can use the additional photosensitive elements to detect the degree of obstruction to the eye-worn ophthalmic device 110 (e.g., by detecting a sum or other property of light detected by the additional photosensitive elements, by determining how many additional photosensitive elements are receiving more than a threshold amount of light, or by some other method).

In another example, the eyelid obstruction sensor may include a conductive loop 170, and the conductive loop may be used to generate an output related to the degree of obstruction to the eye-worn ophthalmic device 110. The impedance magnitude, real impedance, imaginary impedance, inductance, capacitance, resistance, quality factor, resonant frequency, or some other property of the conductive loop 170 can be related to the degree of obstruction to the ophthalmic device 110, and the eyelid sensor can operate to detect such property of the conductive loop 170. This may include applying a specified voltage and/or current waveform to the conductive loop 170 and detecting a property (e.g., current, voltage) of the response of the conductive loop 170 to the applied current and/or voltage.

In the example shown in fig. 1A-1B, the adjustable lens 121 and other elements of the electronic device are fully encapsulated within the polymer layer 120; that is, the polymer layer 120 completely surrounds the electronic device 111 such that no aspect or element of the electronic device 111 is exposed to the environment of the ophthalmic eye wear device 110 (e.g., tear fluid of an eye in which the ophthalmic eye wear device 110 is mounted). However, this is intended as a non-limiting example embodiment. In other embodiments, one or more liquid crystal volumes, one or more fluids placed in an electrowetting lens, or other elements of the adjustable lens 121, the controller 150, the conductive loop 170, the sensor 160, the interconnect 151, the substrate 130, an adhesive applied to the adjustable lens 121 or some other component(s), or some other element of the eye-worn ophthalmic device may be fully encapsulated within the combination of the polymer layer 120 and some other component(s) of the eye-worn ophthalmic device 110 (e.g., within a rigid gas permeable polymer layer that is itself embedded within the soft polymer material of the polymer layer 120), such that the fully encapsulated component is protected from the intrusion of moisture or other substances or is provided with some other benefit associated with full encapsulation.

For example, the polymer layer 120 may be formed by placing the adjustable lens 121, the substrate 130, and the assembly placed on the substrate 130 in a mold, filling the mold with a precursor material (e.g., a solution of monomer units), and curing the precursor solution. The mold may include a plurality of support features in contact with a particular lens or other element of the adjustable lens 121, for example, to provide support to the adjustable lens 121 when casting the rigid gas permeable polymeric material or other material or element of the polymeric layer 120, to control the position of the adjustable lens 121 within the formed polymeric layer 120, or to provide some other benefit. In such an example, one or more locations of the particular lens corresponding to locations where the support features of the mold contact the particular lens may be exposed after formation of the polymer layer 120. Thus, certain lenses of the adjustable lens 121 are not completely encapsulated within the formed polymer layer 120. However, other elements of the eye-worn ophthalmic device (including the controller 150, the interconnect lines 151, one or more liquid crystal volumes, immiscible fluids, and/or additional lenses or other elements of the adjustable lens 121, the sensor 160, or the conductive loop 170) are completely encapsulated within the combination of the polymer layer 120 and the particular lens of the adjustable lens 121.

As shown in fig. 1A, controller 150 and sensor 160 are mounted to the side of substrate 130 facing convex surface 124. However, the electronics, sensors, interconnects, etc. disposed on the substrate 130 may be mounted to an "inward" facing side (e.g., disposed closest to the concave surface 126) or an "outward" facing side (e.g., disposed closest to the convex surface 124). Further, in some embodiments, some electronic components may be mounted on one side of the substrate 130 while other electronic components are mounted to the opposite side, and the connections between the two may be made via conductive material passing through the substrate 130.

Conductive loop 170 may be a layer of conductive material patterned along a planar surface of a substrate to form a planar conductive loop. In some instances, the conductive loop 170 may be formed without completing a complete loop. For example, the conductive loop 170 may have a cut-out (cutout) to make room for the controller 150 and the sensor 160, as shown in fig. 1A. However, the conductive loop 170 may also be arranged as a continuous strip of conductive material that is wrapped completely around the planar surface of the substrate 130 one or more times. For example, a strip of conductive material having a plurality of windings may be patterned on the opposite side of the substrate 130 from the controller 150 and the sensor 160. The interconnect lines between the ends of such coiled conductive loops may pass through the substrate 130 to the controller 150.

Note that the eye-worn ophthalmic device 110 illustrated in fig. 1A-1B is intended as a non-limiting example embodiment. An eye-worn ophthalmic device or otherwise configured ophthalmic device including electronics at least partially embedded within a polymer layer may include additional or alternative elements to those shown in fig. 1A-1B, or may lack some of the elements shown in fig. 1A-1B. For example, such an eye-worn ophthalmic device may include only one of the conductive loops or additional discrete sensors in order to detect the degree of obstruction of the device and/or portions thereof by the eyelid or other ancillary tissue of the eye. Furthermore, although the elements of the ophthalmic eye-worn ophthalmic device 110 shown in fig. 1A-1B are fully encapsulated within the polymer layer 120, an ophthalmic eye-worn ophthalmic device, implantable ophthalmic device, or otherwise configured ophthalmic device as described herein may include electronics that are only partially embedded within a rigid and/or flexible polymer layer. For example, one or more channels, windows, or other features may be formed in such polymer layer(s) to expose electrodes, sensors, or other elements of such partially embedded electronics to the environment of such ophthalmic device.

Further, while the eye-worn ophthalmic device 110 shown in fig. 1A-1B includes electronics 111 embedded within a polymer layer 120, the polymer layer 120 formed to be mounted directly to the eye, the eye-worn ophthalmic device may be configured differently and/or include additional or alternative elements configured to facilitate mounting of the eye-worn ophthalmic device to the eye. For example, the polymer layer 120 can be one or the other of a soft polymer layer (e.g., a hydrogel) or a rigid gas permeable polymer layer that is shaped to fit directly to the eye (e.g., can have a shape similar to the polymer layer 120 shown). In some examples, the rigid gas permeable polymer layer of apparatus 110 (e.g., the rigid gas permeable polymer layer encapsulating electronic device 111) may be shaped such that the rigid gas permeable polymer layer may be mounted on or within the soft polymer material of polymer layer 120 such that the combination of the rigid gas permeable polymer layer and the soft polymer material may be removably mounted to the eye in a manner that is compatible with eyelid movement. The soft polymer material and the stiff gas permeable polymer layer may be configured in such a way: permitting reuse of the rigid gas permeable polymer layer and the electronic device 111 enclosed therein, permitting dry storage of the rigid gas permeable polymer layer and the electronic device 111 therein (e.g., reducing the rate of degradation of the chemical sensor of the electronic device, reducing the rate of degradation of the liquid crystal or other fluid of the adjustable lens 121), or providing some other benefit.

Such a rigid, breathable polymer layer may be configured to be mounted on or within the polymer layer 120 in various ways (e.g., via capillary forces, via adhesives, via formed prongs, clips, ridges, or other formed elements in one or both of the polymer layer 120 and/or the rigid, breathable polymer layer), or using some other means of mounting the rigid, breathable polymer layer on or within the polymer layer 120. The rigid gas permeable polymer layer and the polymer layer 120 may be configured such that the rigid gas permeable polymer layer is completely encapsulated within the polymer layer 120 when the rigid gas permeable polymer layer is mounted to the polymer layer 120, or such that the rigid gas permeable polymer layer is only partially encapsulated within the polymer layer 120 (e.g., such that an outer surface of the rigid gas permeable polymer layer is in contact with a corneal surface or an inner eyelid surface of the eye when the rigid gas permeable polymer layer is mounted to the polymer layer 120 and the combination of the rigid polymer layer and the polymer layer 120 is mounted to the eye).

The electronically adjustable lens 121 is configured such that the voltage, current, or other property of the electrical signal applied to the adjustable lens 121 can be controlled to control the optical power of the electronically adjustable lens 121. In some examples, this may include applying a voltage across the liquid crystal layer of the adjustable lens 121 to, for example, control the refractive index of the liquid crystal. In other examples, adjustable lens 121 may comprise an electrowetting lens, for example, may comprise two or more immiscible fluids differing in refractive index disposed within a lens cavity. Controlling the optical power of such an adjustable lens 121 may include applying a voltage to one or more electrodes in contact with the immiscible fluids to control the geometry of the interface between the fluids. The adjustable lens 121 may include other components configured to provide controllable optical power by some other method or process (e.g., by electronically controlling the flow of a fluid, by using a magnetic field to exert a force on a magnetically active fluid, by using one or more piezoelectric elements or other actuators to deform, translate, or rotate one or more lenses or other optical elements).

The adjustable lens 121 may include additional elements, such as electrodes to apply a voltage or current to the liquid crystal, two or more immiscible fluids within the lens cavity of the electrowetting lens, and/or some other element of the adjustable lens 121, one or more layers of material configured to contain and/or provide structure to the other elements of the adjustable lens 121 (e.g., one or more rigid layers formed as a lens containing liquid crystals and including textures configured to align the liquid crystals relative to the rigid layers, a lens cavity containing two or more immiscible fluids), or other components. In some examples, adjustable lens 121 may include one or more elements (e.g., one or more textured rigid layers on which electrodes are disposed) where the one or more elements are composed of a rigid gas permeable polymeric material, e.g., the same material as the rigid gas permeable polymeric layer forming encapsulated electronic device 111.

The adjustable lens 121 may comprise two or more lenses between which one or more liquid crystal volumes are placed. For example, the adjustable lens 121 may include a first lens, a second lens, and a third lens stacked, a first liquid crystal volume disposed between the first lens and the second lens, and a second liquid crystal volume disposed between the second lens and the third lens. Such an adjustable lens comprising two separate liquid crystal volumes may be configured such that anisotropy in the optical effect of the liquid crystals is at least partially compensated by providing an anisotropic optical effect in a first direction using the first liquid crystal volume and also providing an anisotropic effect in a second perpendicular direction using the second liquid crystal volume. Two or more electrodes may also be provided (e.g., deposited or otherwise formed on one or more of the lenses) to apply an electric field or other electric field force or energy to the liquid crystal volume(s) of the adjustable lens 121 to control the optical power (e.g., diopter, focal length) of the adjustable lens 121.

Fig. 2A is a side cross-sectional view of an example ophthalmic eye-worn device 210 when mounted to a corneal surface of an eye 10. Note that the relative sizes in fig. 2 are not necessarily to scale, but have been drawn for explanatory purposes only in describing the arrangement of the example eye-mounted ophthalmic device 210. Some aspects are exaggerated to allow illustration and to facilitate explanation. The eye-worn ophthalmic device 210 includes an adjustable lens 211. The eye-worn ophthalmic device 210 further comprises electronics 230 configured to operate the adjustable lens 211. The electronics 230 and the adjustable lens 211 are embedded in a polymer layer 220 (e.g., a layer comprising a rigid gas permeable polymer material and/or a hydrogel or other soft polymer material). The electronics 230 may be placed around the adjustable lens 211 (e.g., on an annular substrate) and/or on a lens or other element of the lens 211. The electronics include an eyelid occlusion sensor configured to detect the degree of occlusion of the eyelid occlusion sensor and/or the eye-worn ophthalmic device 210 by one or more eyelids or other tissue associated with the eye 10.

The eye 10 may be covered in whole or in part by the upper eyelid 30 and the lower eyelid 32. Incident light is received by eye 10 through adjustable lens 211, polymer layer 220, and the cornea of eye 10, where the light is optically directed to light sensing elements (e.g., rods and cones, etc.) of eye 10 to stimulate visual perception. The movement of

eyelids

30, 32 distributes the tear film across the exposed corneal surface of eye 10. The tear film is an aqueous fluid secreted by the lacrimal gland to protect and lubricate the eye 10. The tear film layer is distributed across the corneal surface and/or the outer surface of the device 210 by the movement of the

eyelids

30, 32. For example, the

eyelids

30, 32 are raised and lowered, respectively, to spread a small amount of tear film across the corneal surface and/or the outer surface of the eye-worn ophthalmic device 210. The tear film layer on the corneal surface also facilitates mounting of the eye-worn ophthalmic device 210 by capillary forces between the concave outer surface of the device 210 and the corneal surface. In some embodiments, the eye-worn ophthalmic device 210 may also be held on the eye in part by a vacuum force acting on the corneal surface due to the concave curvature of the concave outer surface facing the eye.

The eyelid occlusion sensor of the ophthalmic eye-worn device 210 may be operated to output a signal related to the degree of occlusion of the eyelid occlusion sensor and/or the ophthalmic eye-worn device 210 by one or both of the eyelids 30, the eyelids 32, and/or some other secondary tissue of the eye 10 (e.g., tissue at the corners of the eye 10). Such output may have a characteristic value (e.g., a characteristic high value) when the

eyelid

30, 32 of the eye 10 is open or otherwise minimally obscures the eye-worn ophthalmic device 210 as shown in fig. 2A.

Such output of the eye occlusion sensor may be related to the amount of light received by one or more photosensitive elements of the eye occlusion sensor, the electrical impedance between two or more electrodes of the eye occlusion sensor in contact with the tear film or some other element(s) of the eye 10 or the

eyelids

30, 32, or some other physical variable related to the degree of occlusion of one or more elements of the device 210. In some examples, the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor may be related to an impedance magnitude, a real impedance, an imaginary impedance, an impedance at two or more frequencies, an inductance, a capacitance, a resistance, a quality factor, a resonant frequency, or some other electrical property of one or more elements of a component (e.g., conductive loop) of the eyelid occlusion sensor inductively, capacitively, or otherwise electrically coupled to the tissue of the eye 10 (e.g., eyelid 30, eyelid 32).

For example, the eyelid occlusion sensor may include a conductive loop (e.g., similar to conductive loop 170) that is electrically coupled to tissue of the eye 10 proximate the conductive loop when the eye-worn ophthalmic device 210 is mounted to the eye 10. Such a conductive loop may have electrical characteristics similar to an equivalent circuit including one or more inductors, capacitors, and/or resistors, wherein the properties of one or more of the elements of the equivalent circuit are related to the degree of shading of the ophthalmic device 210. Fig. 2B illustrates an example of such an equivalent circuit 230a corresponding to a conductive loop of the eye-worn ophthalmic device 210 when the

eyelids

30, 32 are open as shown in fig. 2A. The equivalent circuit 230a includes a first inductor L ₁ The inductor of (2). The inductor is connected in parallel with a resistor and a capacitor in series. The resistor has a first resistance R ₁ And the capacitor has a first capacitance C ₁ . One or more of the inductance of the inductor, the resistance of the resistor, or the capacitance of the capacitor may depend on the degree to which the eyelid 30, eyelid 32, or some other tissue of or near the eye 10 obscures the device 210. Such a change in properties may be made using an eyelid occlusion sensor (e.g., by conducting a loop)Applying a pulse of voltage or current and detecting a property of the voltage or current responsively exhibited by the conductive loop) and is used to generate an output of the eyelid occlusion sensor that is related to the degree of occlusion of the device 210.

Such an increase in occlusion of the eye-worn ophthalmic device may include the user blinking, squinting or otherwise moving the

eyelids

30, 32 closer together. Squinting eyes are shown in fig. 2C, which shows the upper eyelid 30 having been partially lowered onto the eye 10 and the eye-worn ophthalmic device 210, and the lower eyelid 32 having been partially raised onto the eye 10 and the eye-worn ophthalmic device 210. As a result, the eye-worn ophthalmic device 210 is partially occluded by the

eyelids

30, 32. Accordingly, the equivalent resistance of the conductive loop can be reduced. This is illustrated by fig. 2D, which shows the second equivalent circuit 230b corresponding to the conductive loop of the eye-worn ophthalmic device 210 when the

eyelids

30, 32 are partially closed as shown in fig. 2C. The second equivalent circuit 230b corresponds to the first equivalent circuit 230a except that the resistance of the resistor is less than R ₁ R of (A) to (B) ₂ 。

Other movements or movements of the eye 10, eyelid 30, eyelid 32, or other tissue of the wearer may cause an increased degree of occlusion of the ophthalmic device 210 that may be detected by the eyelid occlusion sensor. For example, the wearer may look down, up, or in some other direction such that the eye-worn ophthalmic device 210 is at least partially occluded by one of the

eyelids

30, 32, or some other tissue of the eye 10 or near the eye 10. Looking down is shown in fig. 2E, which shows the eye 10 having rotated to look down such that the eye-worn ophthalmic device 210 is partially occluded by the lower eyelid 32. Accordingly, the equivalent resistance of the conductive loop may be reduced, for example, as shown in fig. 2D.

Such a change in the electrical properties of the conductive loop or some other component of the eyelid obstruction sensor may be detected in various ways. In some examples, such detection may include applying a specified voltage and/or current waveform to the conductive loop (or other component of the sensor) and detecting an electrical response (e.g., voltage across, current through) the conductive loop. Such applied voltage and/or current waveforms may include sinusoidal waveforms, square waveforms, or some other repeating waveform having a specified frequency, phase, amplitude, or other property. The amplitude, relative phase, frequency, or other property of the corresponding current through the conductive loop and/or the corresponding voltage of the transconductance circuit loop may then be detected (e.g., by detecting the current and/or voltage at one or more points in time) and used to generate an output related to the degree of obstruction to the device 210 (e.g., an output related to the impedance of the conductive loop). In some examples, a plurality of different sinusoidal or otherwise repeating waveforms may be applied at respective different frequencies, for example, to determine information related to an impedance spectrum or other electrical characteristic of the conductive loop.

In some examples, the applied voltage and/or current waveform may include one or more pulses (e.g., square pulses) of a specified voltage or current. The amplitude at one or more subsequent points in time or other properties of the corresponding current through the conductive loop and/or the corresponding voltage of the transconductance circuit may then be detected (e.g., by detecting the current and/or voltage at one or more points in time) and used to generate an output related to the degree of occlusion of the device 210 (e.g., an output related to a time constant of the decay of the voltage of the transconductance circuit over time, an output related to the impedance of the conductive loop).

Example user interaction with an ophthalmic device

An eye-worn ophthalmic device, implantable ophthalmic device, or otherwise configured ophthalmic device as described herein can include an adjustable lens, and the adjustable lens can be operated to provide a controllable optical power to an eye. Such controllable optical power may be provided to restore the degree of accommodation of the eye (e.g., a degree of accommodation that has been reduced by age, removal of the lens of the eye, or by some other factor) or to provide some other benefit. The power of the adjustable lens may be controlled based on a variety of different conditions. In some examples, the ophthalmic device may receive wireless communications (e.g., radio frequency signals, optical signals) from an external device (e.g., a manually controlled suspension (pendant), a device including one or more sensors, an implanted device configured to detect activity of the ciliary muscle of the eye) and operate the adjustable lens based on such communications. Additionally or alternatively, the ophthalmic device may include one or more sensors to detect one or more physical variables that may be used to determine the optical power provided using the adjustable lens. Such detected physical properties may be related to explicit movements (e.g., blinking, squinting, eye movement) performed by the wearer to control the ophthalmic device (e.g., according to a specified user interface scheme of the device). Such detected physical properties may additionally or alternatively be related to other movements performed by the wearer (e.g., downward movement of the eyes corresponding to using the near focus region of the bifocal lens for reading, squinting eyes indicating an attempted observation of the object).

Such an ophthalmic device may include an eyelid occlusion sensor configured to generate one or more outputs related to the degree of occlusion of the eyelid occlusion sensor and/or ophthalmic device by one or more eyelids or other tissue of or near the eye in which the device is installed and/or implanted. By generating an output related to a degree of occlusion of the ophthalmic device, the eyelid occlusion sensor may facilitate control of the adjustable lens based on blinking, squinting, downward gaze, or other movement of the eye, eyelid, or other tissue of or proximate to the wearer's eye. This range of detectable movement may permit more complex or otherwise improved user interface schemes for operation of adjustable lenses of ophthalmic devices. For example, such an eyelid occlusion sensor may facilitate a user interface scheme in which downward looking by the wearer may be detected, such as when viewing a nearby subject using a bifocal lens, and used to set or change the optical power provided by the adjustable lens.

Further, detecting partial occlusion of the ophthalmic device may permit the wearer to receive feedback from the ophthalmic device while operating the device, as the wearer may continue to observe his or her environment through the adjustable lens while only partially occluding the ophthalmic device (e.g., by squinting or looking down). Such feedback may include the wearer feeling that the optical power provided by the adjustable lens has changed.

The output of such an eyelid occlusion sensor may be used in various ways to operate an adjustable lens or to control some other aspect(s) of the operation of an eye-worn ophthalmic device or otherwise configured ophthalmic device. The ophthalmic device may be operated based on the level, amount of noise, pattern (pattern), edge (edge) or other features or properties of the output of such an eyelid occlusion sensor. The output of such an eyelid obstruction sensor may be used to detect blinking, squinting, downward gaze, upward gaze, saccades, or other movement or properties of the eye, one or more eyelids, or some other tissue(s) of or near the eye.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example output 300 generated by an eyelid occlusion sensor as a function of time. The output 300 relates to a degree of occlusion of the eye-worn ophthalmic device comprising the eyelid occlusion sensor, wherein a lower level of the output 300 indicates a higher level of occlusion of the eye-worn ophthalmic device. The example output 300 includes various features related to the movement of the eye, the eyelid, and/or the environment of the eye-worn ophthalmic device. For example, the output 300 includes a plurality of

negative edges

301a, 301b, 301c during which the degree of occlusion of the ophthalmic device increases. The output also includes a plurality of

positive edges

303a, 303b, 303c during which the degree of occlusion of the ophthalmic device is reduced. Such edges may be associated with squinting of the eyes, blinking gestures, blinking eyes, downward gaze, or other movement of the eyes and/or eyelids. For example, an eye blink 305 is represented in output 300 by a positive edge 303c following a negative edge 301 c. The output 300 also includes noise 307. Such noise may be indicative of eye and/or eyelid movement, such as one or more saccades. Additionally or alternatively, such noise may represent noise within the circuitry of the eyelid occlusion sensor (e.g., due to electromagnetic noise in the circuitry already coupled to the sensor), a change in the wearer's environmental properties (e.g., a change in ambient light levels), or some other source of noise.

To detect movement of the wearer's eye and/or eyelid that may be used to control the adjustable lens, various characteristics of the output 300 may be detected. Such features may be detected on a continuous basis (e.g., determined at the same rate that output 300 is sampled, determined by analog circuitry) or at some other rate or timing. Such detected characteristics may include a noise level of output 300 (e.g., RMS noise of the output), whether the output exceeds one or more thresholds, whether the output has increased or decreased (e.g., more than a threshold amount, more than a threshold ratio over a particular time period), or some other property of output 300.

Determination of such characteristics may include detecting the output of an analog circuit (e.g., an analog comparator, an analog filter, an analog differentiator, a sample-and-hold circuit, an analog signal maximum or minimum level detection circuit, a rectifier, an analog RMS noise detection circuit) or some other analog component. The determination of such characteristics may include detecting the output of a digital circuit (e.g., a digital comparator, a digital filter, a digital differentiator, a digital coincidence detector, a digital accumulator, a counter, a register) or some other digital component. Additionally or alternatively, one or more processors configured to execute program instructions may be used to detect such features, for example, by sampling the output 300 at multiple points in time using an analog-to-digital converter and then performing some operations based on the program instructions to detect features based on multiple samples of the output 300. Such program instructions may be stored in a memory of a controller including one or more processors and/or in some other non-transitory computer-readable medium. Such a controller may additionally or alternatively include the analog and/or digital components described above, or some other components (e.g., circuitry for operating the adjustable lens and/or the eyelid occlusion sensor).

For example, it may be detected whether the noise level (e.g., RMS noise) of the output 300 exceeds a specified level. The output of this detection is indicated in fig. 3 as "NOISE". Additionally or alternatively, it may be detected whether the output 300 exceeds one or more thresholds. Note that as used herein, a signal value that exceeds a threshold may include a signal value that is greater than or equal to the value of the threshold. Alternatively, a signal exceeding a thresholdThe value may include a signal value that is less than or equal to the threshold value. For example, it may be detected whether the output 300 exceeds a first threshold "T _LOW ". The output of this detection is indicated as "L" in FIG. 3 _THRESH ". Additionally or alternatively, it may be detected whether the output 300 does not exceed the second threshold "T _HIGH ". The output of this detection is indicated as "H" in FIG. 3 _THRESH ”。

It may be detected whether the degree of occlusion of the ophthalmic device has decreased or increased during a period of time. This may include detecting positive and/or negative edges within the output 300. The output of such detection of negative edges is indicated in fig. 3 as "INCREASE" (since such negative edges may indicate an INCREASE in the degree of occlusion of the ophthalmic device), and the output of such detection of positive edges is indicated in fig. 3 as "reduce" (since such positive edges may indicate a DECREASE in the degree of occlusion of the ophthalmic device).

Such detection may be performed based on the output of a digital or analog differentiator or other filter, the magnitude of change in the output 300 between two different samples of the output 300 (e.g., subsequent samples of the output, subsequent downsampled samples of the output), the contents of a ring buffer or other set of one or more digital registers or sample-and-hold circuits, or some other circuit or program. Such a determination may be performed using very little power (e.g., using a digital comparator, counter, or other component). With respect to the comparison of output 300 to one or more thresholds, the operation of the adjustable lens based on the detected edges may be resilient to changes in the average level of output 300 (e.g., due to changes in ambient light levels, electrical properties of the conductive loop, hydration value of the wearer), as the detection of edges or similar features in output 300 may be performed based on relative changes in output 300 rather than based on preset thresholds.

Such detected edges or other features may be used to detect additional features within output 300 in a power efficient manner. For example, an eye blink (e.g., 305) may be detected based on a temporal proximity between a negative edge (e.g., 301c) and a subsequent positive edge (e.g., 303 c). Such detection may be performed in a power-saving manner by resetting and/or starting a digital counter in response to detecting a negative edge. The detection of blinks may be based on the detection of a positive edge before the digital counter reaches a threshold. If the counter reaches the threshold without detecting a positive edge, some operations may be performed in response (e.g., operations related to setting or changing the optical power of the adjustable lens).

The features described herein and the methods of detection thereof may be used to control an adjustable lens according to one or more user interface schemes. Such user interface schemes may be based on explicit movements that the wearer may perform to control the ophthalmic device (e.g., blinking, squinting, eye movement). Additionally or alternatively, such user interface schemes may be based on other movements performed by the wearer, such as downward movements of the eyes corresponding to using the near focus region of the bifocal lens for reading, squinting eyes indicating hard-to-observe of the object.

The ophthalmic device may operate to detect whether the output 300 of the eyelid obstruction sensor is noisy (e.g., due to a user making a saccade, blink, or other momentary movement or process, due to noise present in the circuitry of the eyelid obstruction sensor, or due to optical, electromagnetic, or other noise sources present in the wearer's environment). In response to detecting that the output 300 is free of noise (e.g., the level of noise in the output 300 during a specified previous time period is below a specified level), the adjustable lens may be operated based on the magnitude of the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor (e.g., based on a determination that the output 300 exceeds or does not exceed one or more thresholds).

The determination that the noise level in the output 300 during the specified previous time period is below the specified level may be performed in a power-saving manner by resetting and/or stopping the digital counter in response to detecting that the noise level is above the specified level. Alternatively, such a digital counter may be reset and/or started in response to detecting that the noise level has dropped below a specified level. Detecting that the noise level during the specified previous time period is below the specified level may then include determining that the digital counter has reached the specified threshold. This is illustrated in fig. 3 by the arrow with respect to the detected "NOISE" signal. Each arrow represents a specified duration of time after a period of time during which noise in the output 300 is above a specified threshold. At the end of such a duration (head of arrow), some operation related to the adjustable lens may be performed (e.g., comparing the level of the output 300 to one or more thresholds). Alternatively, if the noise level exceeds a specified threshold before the counter reaches the threshold, the counter may be reset or some other operation may be performed (shown by 310 in fig. 3).

For example, if the output 300 exceeds "T" at a first point in time _LOW ", and the noise level in the output 300 during the specified time period prior to the first point in time is below the specified level, the optical power of the adjustable lens may be switched between the first optical power and the second optical power. This is represented by "OUTPUT" in FIG. 3 ₁ "where a downward arrow indicates that the optical power of the lens is set to a first optical power (e.g., the optical power used to view near objects), and an upward arrow indicates that the optical power of the lens is set to a second optical power (e.g., the optical power used to view distant objects).

In another example, if the output 300 exceeds "T" at a first point in time _LOW ", and the noise level in the output 300 during the specified time period prior to the first point in time is below the specified level, the optical power of the adjustable lens may be set to a first optical power (e.g., the optical power used to view the near object). Subsequently, if the output 300 does not exceed "T" at the second point in time _HIGH ", and the noise level in the output 300 during the specified time period prior to the second point in time is below the specified level, the power of the adjustable lens may be set to a second power (e.g., the power used to view distant objects). This is represented by "OUTPUT" in FIG. 3 ₂ "wherein the downward arrow indicates setting the optical power of the lens to a first optical power, and the upward arrow indicates setting the optical power of the lens to a second optical power. Other methods of operation based on the illustrated threshold and/or additional thresholds may be used. For example, if the first point in timeThe noise level in the output 300 during the previous specified time period is below the specified level, and the output 300 is between two thresholds (e.g., if the output 300 exceeds "T _HIGH "but not exceeding" T _LOW ") the power of the adjustable lens may be maintained at any level set at the first point in time.

The ophthalmic device may operate to detect whether the output 300 of the eyelid occlusion sensor has increased or decreased, and after such detection, determine whether the output 300 has remained at substantially the same level. In response to making such a determination, the adjustable lens may be operated (e.g., based on whether the detected edge is a positive edge or a negative edge, based on whether the detected edge is part of a blink). The device may additionally detect whether an edge is part of a blink (e.g., based on one or more detected subsequent edges) and perform such an operation conditional on such a determination.

For example, if a negative edge (e.g., 301a) is detected (e.g., related to an increase in the degree of occlusion of the ophthalmic device during a corresponding time period), the ophthalmic device may determine whether the detected output 300 at a first point in time (e.g., 320a) differs from the detected output 300 at a second, subsequent point in time (e.g., 320b) by less than a specified amount. If so, the power of the adjustable lens may be switched between the first power and the second power. The first and second points in time may be points in time specified relative to the timing of the negative edge (e.g., relative to the time the negative edge was detected (e.g., 320 c)). This is represented by "OUTPUT" in FIG. 3 ₃ "where a downward arrow indicates setting the optical power of the lens to a first optical power (e.g., the optical power used to view near objects) and an upward arrow indicates setting the optical power of the lens to a second optical power (e.g., the optical power used to view far objects).

In another example, if a negative edge (e.g., 301a) is detected (e.g., related to an increase in the degree of occlusion of the ophthalmic device during a corresponding time period), the ophthalmic device may determine whether the detected output 300 of a first point in time (e.g., 320a) differs from the detected output 300 of a second, subsequent point in time (e.g., 320b) by less than a specified amount. If so, the power of the adjustable lens may be set to a first power (e.g., the power used to view the near subject). The first and second points in time may be points in time specified relative to the timing of the negative edge (e.g., relative to the time the negative edge was detected (e.g., 320 c)).

Subsequently, if a positive edge (e.g., 303a) is detected (e.g., related to a degree of occlusion of the ophthalmic device decreasing during a corresponding time period), the ophthalmic device may determine whether the detected output 300 of the third point in time (e.g., 330a) differs from the detected output 300 of the fourth subsequent point in time (e.g., 330b) by less than a specified amount. If so, the power of the adjustable lens may be set to a second power (e.g., the power used to view the distant object). The third and fourth points in time may be points in time specified relative to the timing of the positive edge (e.g., relative to the time at which the positive edge was detected (e.g., 330 c)). This is represented by "OUTPUT" in FIG. 3 ₄ "wherein the downward arrow indicates setting the optical power of the lens to a first optical power, and the upward arrow indicates setting the optical power of the lens to a second optical power.

In some examples, the user interface scheme may include detecting whether a specified number (e.g., three) of one or more events (e.g., blinks) have occurred within a specified time span. It may also be advantageous to prevent each event that occurs after such detection from also triggering such detection. The ophthalmic device may be configured to perform such operations efficiently by using a number of digital counters that is at least twice the number of events to be detected within a specified time span. When an event is detected, a first digital counter may be started (e.g., incremented during each of a plurality of subsequent sampling periods or other clock periods), and a second digital counter may be incremented. If the event is detected again before the first counter reaches the specified threshold, a third digital counter may be started, the first digital counter may be incremented, and a fourth digital counter may be incremented. The specified threshold corresponds to a specified time span. When a further event is detected before the first counter reaches a specified threshold, a further digital counter may be started, a further digital counter may be incremented, and an even counter may be incremented. If the second digital counter reaches the number of events to be detected before the first digital counter reaches the specified threshold, the ophthalmic device may detect that a specified number (e.g., three) of one or more events (e.g., blinks) have occurred within a specified time span. Further, the digital counter may be reset and/or stopped. Alternatively, if the first digital counter reaches a specified threshold without the second digital counter reaching the number of events to be detected, the digital counter may be reset and/or stopped.

An example scenario for using a counter is shown in fig. 4, which shows an example output 400 generated by an eyelid occlusion sensor. The example output 400 includes various features related to the movement of the eye, eyelid, and/or environment of the ophthalmic device. As shown, the output 400 represents a plurality of blinks 401a, 401b, 401c, 401d, 401e, 401 f. The timing of detection of

BLINKS

401a, 401b, 401c, 401d, 401e, 401f is represented by "BLINKS" in fig. 4. Figure 4 also shows the values over time (by "COUNT") of six different digital counters of the ophthalmic device _1A ”、“COUNT _1B ”、“COUNT _2A ”、“COUNT _2B ”、“COUNT _3A "and" COUNT _3B "means"). The ophthalmic device is configured to detect whether three blinks have occurred within a specified time span.

Upon detection of a first blink 401a, a first counter ("COUNT") is started _1A ") and a second counter (" COUNT ") is incremented _1B ") is incremented. When a second blink 401b is detected, a third counter ("COUNT") is activated _2A ") and cause the second and fourth counters (" COUNT ") _2B ") is incremented. When a third blink 401c is detected, a fifth counter ("COUNT") is started _3A ") and have a second counter, a fourth counter, and a sixth counter (" COUNT ") _3B ") is incremented. The ophthalmic device then detects that the second counter has reached the eventAnd in response determines that three blinks have occurred within a specified time span (represented by arrows in fig. 4). The ophthalmic device also resets and stops the digital counter. Subsequently, a fourth blink 401d is detected and, in response to the detection, a first counter ("COUNT") is started _1A ") and a second counter (" COUNT ") _1B ") is incremented. However, no further events are detected until the first counter reaches a threshold value associated with a specified time span, and thus the first and second counters are stopped and reset.

The systems and methods described herein may be operated to detect blinking, squinting, downward gaze, or other movement of the eyes and/or eyelids while detecting a degree of occlusion of the eyes at a low rate (e.g., at a rate less than 40 hertz or at a rate less than 20 hertz) (e.g., by detecting an output of an eyelid occlusion sensor). Operating the eyelid occlusion sensor to detect the degree of occlusion of the eye at such a low rate and/or performing some operations based on the detected degree of occlusion may facilitate performance of such operations when a low power amount is used (e.g., less than 15 nanoamperes or less than 10 nanoamperes). Such low power operation may allow the ophthalmic device to operate for extended periods of time (e.g., days, weeks) without recharging a rechargeable battery of the ophthalmic device and/or replacing the ophthalmic device.

Example electronics for ophthalmic devices

Fig. 5 is a block diagram of a system 500 including an ophthalmic device 510 (e.g., an eye-worn device, an implantable-eye device) as described herein. The ophthalmic apparatus 510 wirelessly communicates with the external apparatus 580. The ophthalmic device 510 includes a controller 530, an adjustable lens 533, an eyelid obstruction sensor 539, and a communication interface 535. The adjustable lens 533 is configured to provide a controllable optical power (e.g., to an eye in which the ophthalmic device is mounted or implanted). The eyelid obstruction sensor 539 is configured to detect obstruction of the sensor 539 and/or the ophthalmic device 510 by one or more eyelids or other tissue proximate to an eye in which the ophthalmic device 510 is installed, implanted with the ophthalmic device 510, or otherwise associated with the ophthalmic device 510. The adjustable lens 533 and eyelid obstruction sensor 539 are operated by the controller 530. The communication interface 535 includes one or more antennas, amplifiers, oscillators, mixers, modulators, or other elements that can be operated by the controller 530 to wirelessly communicate information between the ophthalmic device 510 and the external device 580 via radio frequency signals or some other wireless signals.

The communication interface 535, the controller 530, the eyelid obstruction sensor 539, and the adjustable lens 533 may all be connected together via interconnect lines 515 (e.g., via patterned metal traces formed on the substrate material on which the components (e.g., 533, 530, 539, 535) are placed). Further, impedance sensing electrodes, electrowetting lens electrodes, liquid crystal lens electrodes, conductive loops, antennas, or other elements of the assembly (e.g., 533, 530, 539, 535) may include metal traces or patterns formed on such substrate materials.

In some examples, one or more components of the ophthalmic device 510 may form part of two or more of the adjustable lens 533, the eyelid occlusion sensor 539, or the communication interface 535. For example, the conductive loop may be used as part of the eyelid obstruction sensor 539 to detect the degree of obstruction of the ophthalmic device 510 by the eyelid. Such conductive loops may also be used as part of communications interface 535 to send or receive wireless communication signals and/or to receive wireless power from external device 580.

To facilitate contact mounting to the eye, the polymeric material of the ophthalmic device 510 can have a concave surface configured to adhere ("mount") to a wet corneal surface (e.g., by capillary forces with a tear film coating the corneal surface). Additionally or alternatively, the ophthalmic device 510 may be adhered by vacuum forces between the corneal surface and the polymeric material due to the concave curvature. When mounted with a concave surface against the eye, the outward facing surface of the polymeric material may have a convex curvature formed so as not to interfere with eyelid movement when the ophthalmic device 510 is mounted to the eye. For example, the polymeric material may be a substantially transparent curved polymeric disc shaped like a contact lens.

The ophthalmic device 510 may be powered in various ways. For example, the ophthalmic device 510 may include an electrochemical cell and/or a supercapacitor to store energy for use by the device 510. Additionally or alternatively, the device 510 may include means for harvesting wireless energy (e.g., radio frequency energy, optical energy). For example, a radio frequency energy harvesting antenna (e.g., an antenna of communication interface 535) may capture energy from incident radio radiation. In another example, the photovoltaic cell or other optical energy receiving element(s) may receive energy from ambient lighting present in the environment of the device 510 and/or optical energy emitted from an external device (e.g., from the external device 580).

The controller 530 may include various electronic components to facilitate operation of the ophthalmic device 510 as described elsewhere herein. For example, the controller may include an amplifier, comparator, sample-and-hold circuit, analog-to-digital converter(s), voltage reference, constant current source, pulse generator, oscillator, rectifier, or other circuitry to operate the eyelid occlusion sensor 539 to generate an output related to the degree of occlusion of the eyelid occlusion sensor 539 and/or the ophthalmic device 510 by one or more eyelids or other tissue proximate the eye associated with (e.g., on which the device is mounted, implanted with) the ophthalmic device 510. The controller 530 may include an amplifier, charge pump, boost converter, constant current source, voltage reference, switch, blocking capacitor, rectifier, digital-to-analog converter, or other circuitry to operate the adjustable lens 533 to provide a specified optical power, for example to provide an optical power selected from a set of two or more different optical powers. Such different optical powers may facilitate the wearer viewing objects within respective different ranges of distances from the eyes of the observer. For example, the adjustable lens 533 may be operated to provide an optical power selected from two different optical powers, a first optical power corresponding to near vision and a second optical power corresponding to far vision.

The controller 530 may additionally include logic components configured to implement the methods of operation of ophthalmic devices described herein. In some examples, such logic components may include one or more digital counters, clocks, latches, flip-flops, comparators, lookup tables, multipliers, adders, coincidence detectors, registers, or other components configured to provide a finite state machine or other form of digital controller configured to implement the operations described herein. Additionally or alternatively, controller 530 may comprise a computing device including one or more processors configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory of the device in order to perform the operations described herein. For example, the controller may include a flash memory, a programmable read only memory, or some other non-volatile computer readable medium that may contain such program instructions. In some examples, controller 530 may be configured and/or programmed to receive such instructions (e.g., receive initial programming of device 510, receive programming updates, receive user preferences or parameters) using a communication interface (e.g., from external device 580).

Note that the block diagram shown in fig. 5 is described in conjunction with functional blocks for convenience of description. However, embodiments of the ophthalmic apparatus 510 can be arranged with one or more of the functional modules ("subsystems") implemented in a single chip, integrated circuit (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit), and/or physical features. That is, the functional blocks in fig. 5 need not be implemented as separate modules. Furthermore, one or more of the functional modules depicted in fig. 5 may be implemented by individually packaged chips that are electrically connected to each other. Further, it is noted that the ophthalmic devices described herein may include additional, fewer, and/or alternative components to those shown in fig. 5 (e.g., additional sensors, electrodes, batteries, controllers, transmitters, receivers, light emitters, etc.). For example, the ophthalmic device 510 may lack a communication interface 535 and may be configured to operate independently of any external device (e.g., 580) to operate the eyelid obstruction sensor 539 and the adjustable lens 533 as described herein.

The external device 580 includes a communication interface 588 to transmit wireless signals to the ophthalmic device 510 and to receive wireless signals from the ophthalmic device 510. External device 580 also includes a computing system having processor 586 in communication with memory 582. External device 580 may also include one or more of user controls 585 and a display 587. Memory 582 is a non-transitory computer-readable medium that can include, without limitation, magnetic disks, optical disks, organic memory, and/or any other volatile (e.g., RAM) or non-volatile (e.g., ROM) storage system readable by processor 586. The memory 582 can include a data store 583 to store indications of data, such as user preferences (e.g., user selections between a plurality of different potential user interface schemes that can be implemented by the device 510), program settings (e.g., to adjust the behavior of the ophthalmic device 510 and/or the external device 580), and so forth. Memory 582 may also include program instructions 584 for execution by processor 586 to cause external device 580 to perform processes specified by instructions 584. For example, the program instructions 584 may cause the external device 580 to perform any of the functions described herein. For example, the program instructions 584 may cause the external device 580 to provide a user interface that allows information communicated from the ophthalmic device 510 (e.g., sensor output or other information related to the eyelid occlusion sensor 539) to be retrieved by displaying the information on the display 587 in response to commands entered via the user controls 585.

The external device 580 may be a smartphone, digital assistant, or other portable computing device having a radio, light emitter, light detector, or other wireless connection sufficient to provide wireless communication with the communication interface 535 of the ophthalmic device 510. The external device 580 may also be implemented as a wireless module (e.g., radio, optical data link) that may be plugged into the portable computing device, such as in the example where the radio frequency wireless signals used to communicate with the ophthalmic device 510 are at a carrier frequency not typically employed in portable computing devices. In some instances, the external device 580 is a dedicated device that is configured to be placed relatively close to an installation location of the ophthalmic device 510 on the wearer's body (e.g., close to the wearer's eye) to allow the communication interfaces 535, 588 to operate with a low power budget. External device 580 may also be implemented in glasses or a head-mounted display.

V. example method

Fig. 6 is a flow chart of a method 600 for operating an ophthalmic device. The ophthalmic device includes an eyelid occlusion sensor, an adjustable lens, and a controller. The method 600 includes detecting an output of an eyelid occlusion sensor at a plurality of time points (602). This may include applying a specified current and/or voltage waveform to the conductive loop, the light sensitive element (e.g., photodiode), two or more electrodes, or some other element(s) of the eyelid occlusion sensor at each of a plurality of points in time. Detecting the output of the eyelid obstruction sensor may include operating an ADC, a comparator, or some other electronic component to detect a voltage across and/or current through an element (e.g., a conductive loop, a photosensitive element, two or more electrodes) of the eyelid obstruction sensor one or more times for each of a plurality of time points. Detecting the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor may include generating a signal (e.g., an analog signal, a digital signal) related to the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor using an analog or digital filter, a comparator, a sample-and-hold, an RMS detector, a coincidence detector, or some other electronic component.

The method 600 includes determining, based on the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor, that the degree of occlusion of the eye increases during the first time period (604). This may include detecting positive and/or negative edges or other features within the detected output. Such detection may be performed based on the output of a digital or analog differentiator or other filter, the change in amplitude of the output between two different samples of the output (e.g., subsequent samples of the output, subsequent downsampled samples of the output), the contents of a circular buffer or other set of one or more digital registers or sample-and-hold circuits, or some other circuit or program.

The method 600 includes determining that the output of the detected eyelid occlusion sensor at a first point in time differs from the output of the detected eyelid occlusion sensor at a second point in time by less than a specified amount, wherein the second point in time is after the first period of time (606). This may include determining that a difference between the output of the detected eyelid occlusion sensor at the first point in time and the output of the detected eyelid occlusion sensor at the second point in time is less than a specified value. The first and second points in time may be points in time specified relative to the timing of the detected edge or relative to some other time related to a first period of time during which the degree of occlusion of the eye increases.

The method 600 includes, in response to determining that the detected eyelid obstruction sensor output at the first point in time differs from the detected eyelid obstruction sensor output at the second point in time by less than a specified amount, adjusting an optical power of the adjustable lens (608). This may include setting the adjustable lens to a first optical power (e.g., an optical power for viewing the near object), switching the adjustable lens between the first optical power (e.g., an optical power for viewing the near object) and a second optical power (e.g., an optical power for viewing the far object), or performing some other operation. Such a determination may be based on some other determination, for example, a determination that within a specified minimum time period, a first time period during which the degree of occlusion of the eye increases is not followed by a second time period during which the degree of occlusion of the eye decreases.

The method 600 may include additional steps or elements in addition to those depicted in fig. 6 (i.e., 602, 604, 606, 608). The method 600 may include other steps or elements, or some additional steps or elements, as described elsewhere herein.

Fig. 7 is a flow chart of a method 700 for operating an ophthalmic apparatus. The ophthalmic device includes an eyelid occlusion sensor, an adjustable lens, and a controller. The method 700 includes detecting an output of an eyelid occlusion sensor at multiple points in time (702). This may include applying a specified current and/or voltage waveform to the conductive loop, the light sensitive element (e.g., photodiode), two or more electrodes, or some other element(s) of the eyelid occlusion sensor at each of a plurality of time points. Detecting the output of the eyelid obstruction sensor may include operating an ADC, a comparator, or some other electronic component to detect a voltage across and/or current through an element (e.g., a conductive loop, a photosensitive element, two or more electrodes) of the eyelid obstruction sensor one or more times for each of a plurality of time points. Detecting the output of the eyelid obstruction sensor may include generating a signal (e.g., an analog signal, a digital signal) related to the output of the eyelid obstruction sensor using an analog or digital filter, a comparator, a sample-and-hold, an RMS detector, a coincidence detector, or some other electronic component.

The method 700 includes determining, at a first point in time, based on the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor, that a level of noise in the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor during a specified time period prior to the first point in time is below a specified level (704). This may include resetting and/or stopping the digital counter in response to detecting the noise level above a specified level. Alternatively, such a digital counter may be reset and/or started in response to detecting that the noise level has dropped below a specified level. Detecting that the noise level during the specified previous time period is below the specified level may then comprise determining that the digital counter has reached the specified threshold.

The method 700 includes determining that the detected eyelid occlusion sensor output at a first point in time exceeds a first threshold (706). This may include operating an analog or digital comparator to determine that the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor exceeds a first threshold. The method 700 further includes, in response to determining (1) that the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor at the first point in time exceeds a first threshold and (2) that a level of noise in the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor during a specified time period prior to the first point in time is below a specified level, adjusting an optical power of the adjustable lens (708). This may include setting the adjustable lens to a first optical power (e.g., an optical power for viewing the near object), switching the adjustable lens between the first optical power (e.g., an optical power for viewing the near object) and a second optical power (e.g., an optical power for viewing the far object), or performing some other operation.

The method 700 may include additional steps or elements in addition to the steps or elements depicted in fig. 7 (i.e., 702, 704, 706, 708). The method 700 may include other steps or elements, or some additional steps or elements, as described elsewhere herein.

Example synchronization of ophthalmic devices

Devices as described herein may be used in pairs, for example with a single device mounted to and/or implanted within each of a user's eyes. Each device of such a pair may be operable to detect an eye-based pose of their respective eye (e.g., by detecting an occlusion level of a sensor of the device over time), and in response to detecting such a pose, adjust the optical power provided by the respective adjustable lens of the device. Each device in such a pair may perform such operations substantially independently (e.g., without communicating with each other), to compare sensor outputs, synchronize the operation of the adjustable lens (e.g., maintain the adjustable lens at the same power level), or perform some other operation in unison.

However, when two devices (e.g., eye-worn devices, eye-implanted devices) are operated in this manner, their operation may become unsynchronized. For example, a device mounted to the left eye of the wearer may provide optical power suitable for distance vision, while a device mounted to the right eye of the wearer may provide optical power suitable for near vision. This dyssynchrony may occur due to one of the devices failing to detect the eye-based gesture (false negative detection), one of the devices falsely detecting the eye-based gesture when it does not occur (false positive detection), or due to some other circumstance. This may be related to differences in anatomy or physiology between eyes, differences in electrical or other properties of the device, differences in ambient lighting or other properties of the environment of the device, or some other factor.

To prevent such out-of-sync operation and/or provide other benefits, the device may be provided with means for wireless communication. However, such means may increase the cost of the device, impose additional size, aesthetic or volume constraints on the device, or may be associated with some other undesirable structural or functional modification of the device. Moreover, operating such an apparatus for wireless communication may require more energy than is feasible given a particular device power budget.

Alternatively, the devices described herein may be operated to detect a plurality of different eye-based gestures, wherein at least one of the detected gestures is a "reset" gesture. Such a reset gesture may provide a fail-safe method of placing the ophthalmic device in a specified synchronous operating state. Such a "reset state" may include adjusting an adjustable lens of the ophthalmic apparatus to a specified "reset" optical power (e.g., an optical power suitable for distance vision), or setting some other operational state, parameter, or mode of the ophthalmic apparatus to a pre-specified state. If the wearer determines that a pair of devices used by the wearer have become unsynchronized, the wearer may perform a "reset" gesture in order to place the devices back into synchronous operation.

Such "reset" gestures may generally have a longer duration, require more eye-based activity, or otherwise be performed more aggressively than other gestures detected by the devices described herein, which are used by such devices to perform non "reset" operations (e.g., adjusting the optical power of an adjustable lens between two different optical powers suitable for distance and near vision, respectively). For example, a "reset" gesture may include more sub-gestures (e.g., blink gesture, squint, saccade downward), a longer duration sub-gesture (e.g., a longer duration blink gesture, squint, etc.), a longer overall duration, a more complex sequence of sub-gestures (e.g., a particular alternating sequence of blink gestures and blink), or may require more effort on the part of the wearer to perform than other non-reset "gestures. Such a difference between the "reset" pose and the other pose may provide easier control over the non- "reset" operation of the device (e.g., adjusting the optical power of the device between distance and near vision), may prevent inadvertent activation of the "reset" operation of the device (which may be only rarely needed), and/or may provide other benefits.

Fig. 8A is a flow chart of a method 800A for operating an ophthalmic device as described herein. The method 800A includes reading a gesture signal 802 a. This may include detecting the output of the eyelid obstruction sensor at multiple points in time or detecting the output of some other sensor in some other manner. For example, digital and/or analog circuitry may receive a signal from a sensor (e.g., an eyelid obstruction sensor) and produce an output (e.g., a digital output) when the sensor output indicates a gesture. The method 800a also includes determining whether an "adjustment" gesture 804a is present in the gesture signal based on the gesture signal. If such an "adjustment" gesture is detected, the power of the adjustable lens of the device is adjusted 806a (e.g., switched between a first power and a second power, set to a particular power corresponding to the detected "adjustment" gesture). If an "adjust" gesture is not detected, the method 800a includes determining whether a "reset" gesture is present in the gesture signal based on the gesture signal 808 a. If such a "reset" gesture is detected, the device is set to a "reset" state 810 a. This may include adjusting the power of the adjustable lens to a pre-specified "reset" power, setting the operating mode of the device to a pre-specified "reset" mode, or performing some other operation to "reset" the device.

The "adjustment" gesture(s) detected in fig. 8A may be any eye-based gesture described herein. For example, an "adjustment" gesture may include one or more blinks, blinking gestures, squinting, downward gaze, or other eye-related activity or combinations or permutations thereof. Detecting an "adjustment" gesture 804a may include detecting one of a set of "adjustment" gestures. For example, there may be first and second "adjustment" postures corresponding to respective first and second optical powers of the adjustable lens (e.g., distance vision power and near vision power), and detecting a particular one of the plurality of "adjustment" postures may cause the apparatus to adjust the optical power of the lens to an optical power corresponding to the detected one of the "adjustment" postures. The "adjust" gesture(s) may be detected according to any of the methods described herein. For example, detecting an "adjustment" gesture may include determining a level of noise present in the gesture signal, comparing the gesture signal at one or more points in time to itself and/or one or more threshold levels, determining whether the gesture signal has increased or decreased over time, or determining some other characteristic or property of the gesture signal.

The "reset" gesture(s) detected in fig. 8A may be any eye-based gesture described herein. In some examples, a "reset" gesture may have a longer duration, include more sub-gestures (e.g., more blinks), include more complex sequences of sub-gestures, include longer duration sub-gestures (e.g., longer duration squinting), or otherwise require more effort and/or time to complete than "adjust" gesture(s). In some examples, a "reset" gesture may include an "adjust" gesture as a sub-gesture. For example, an "adjust" gesture may include, for example, performing three blinks consecutively within a specified time period, while not performing any additional blinks for another specified time period thereafter. A "reset" gesture may in such an example comprise performing more than three blinks in succession for yet another specified period of time.

Setting the device to a "reset state" 810a can include adjusting the adjustable lens to a pre-specified optical power, setting an internal state or mode of the device to a pre-specified state or mode, resetting one or more settings or states (e.g., thresholds) of the device to factory-standard settings, or operating the device in some other manner such that after setting the device to a "reset state," the device operates in a pre-specified manner. In some examples, this may include setting the device to a "reset state" as with the "reset state" of the paired device. For example, a "reset state" of both devices of the pair may include the adjustable lens of each device being set to the same optical power to facilitate distance vision. Alternatively, the "reset state" of each device of a pair of devices may differ, for example, according to a difference in the prescription (description) of each eye of the wearer. For example, a "reset state" of a first device may include the adjustable lens of the first device being set to a first prescribed optical power to facilitate distance vision in the wearer's left eye, while a "reset state" of a second device may include the adjustable lens of the second device being set to a second prescribed optical power to facilitate distance vision in the wearer's right eye.

In some examples, setting the device to a "reset state" may include operating an adjustable lens of the device to provide a pre-specified optical power or assuming some other pre-specified state. This is particularly beneficial in examples where other eye-based gestures (e.g., squinting, blinking, saccading downward) detected by the device are used to switch the optical power of the adjustable lens between two or more discrete pre-specified optical powers (e.g., between a first optical power suitable for distance vision and a second optical power suitable for near vision). Fig. 8B is a flow chart of such a method 800B for operating an ophthalmic device as described herein.

The method 800b includes reading a gesture signal 802 b. The method 800b also includes determining whether an "adjustment" gesture is present in the gesture signal based on the gesture signal 804 b. If such an "adjustment" gesture is detected, the power of the adjustable lens of the device is switched 806b between the first power and the second power. If an "adjust" gesture is not detected, the method 800b includes determining whether a "reset" gesture is present in the gesture signal based on the gesture signal 808 b. If such a "reset" posture is detected, the power of the adjustable lens is set to the first power 810 b.

VII. conclusion

Where example embodiments relate to information relating to a person or a device of a person, embodiments should be understood to include privacy controls. Such privacy controls include at least anonymization, transparency, and user controls of the device identifier, including functionality that would enable a user to modify or delete information related to the user's use of the product.

Further, where embodiments discussed herein collect personal information about a user or personal information may be used, the user may be provided with an opportunity to control whether programs or features collect user information (e.g., information about the user's medical history, social network, social behaviors or activities, profession, the user's preferences, or the user's current location), or whether and/or how to receive content from a content server that may be more relevant to the user. Further, certain data may be processed in one or more ways before it is stored or used, such that personally identifiable information is removed. For example, the user identity may be processed such that personally identifiable information cannot be determined for the user, or the user's geographic location (such as at a city, zip code, or state level) may be summarized where location information is obtained such that the user's particular location cannot be determined. Thus, the user may control how information about the user is collected and used by the content server.

The particular arrangements shown in the drawings should not be considered limiting. It should be understood that other embodiments may include more or less of each element shown in a given figure. In addition, some of the illustrated elements may be combined or omitted. Furthermore, example embodiments may include elements not shown in the figures.

In addition, while various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are contemplated herein.

Claims

1. An ophthalmic apparatus, comprising:

an eyelid occlusion sensor;

an adjustable lens; and

a controller, wherein the controller comprises electronics to perform operations comprising:

detecting an output of the eyelid occlusion sensor at a plurality of time points;

determining, at a first point in time, based on the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor, that a level of noise in the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor during a specified period of time prior to the first point in time is below a specified level;

determining that the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor at the first point in time exceeds a first threshold; and

adjusting the optical power of the adjustable lens in response to determining (1) that the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor at the first point in time exceeds the first threshold and (2) that a level of noise in the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor during the specified period of time prior to the first point in time is below the specified level.

2. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim 1, wherein adjusting the optical power of the adjustable lens comprises switching between a first optical power and a second optical power, wherein the first optical power is different from the second optical power.

3. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim 2, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining that a reset gesture has occurred based on the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor; and

in response to determining that the reset posture has occurred, setting an optical power of the adjustable lens to the first optical power.

4. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim 1, wherein adjusting the optical power of the adjustable lens comprises setting the optical power of the adjustable lens to a first optical power, and wherein the operations further comprise:

determining, at a second point in time, based on the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor, that a level of noise in the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor during a specified period of time prior to the second point in time is below the specified level;

determining that the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor at the second point in time exceeds the first threshold; and

in response to determining (1) that the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor at the second point in time exceeds the first threshold and (2) that a level of noise in the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor during the specified period of time prior to the second point in time is below the specified level, setting the optical power of the adjustable lens to a second optical power, wherein the first optical power is different than the second optical power.

5. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim 1, wherein adjusting the optical power of the adjustable lens comprises setting the optical power of the adjustable lens to a first optical power, and wherein the operations further comprise:

determining that the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor at the second point in time does not exceed a second threshold, wherein the first threshold and the second threshold are different; and

in response to determining (1) that the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor at the second point in time does not exceed the second threshold and (2) that a level of noise in the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor during the specified period of time prior to the second point in time is below the specified level, setting the optical power of the adjustable lens to a second optical power, wherein the first optical power is different from the second optical power.

6. The ophthalmic device of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises a noise detector, and wherein determining that the level of noise in the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor during the specified time period prior to the first time point is below the specified level comprises detecting the output of the noise detector.

7. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises a comparator, and wherein determining that the detected output of the eyelid obstruction sensor at the first point in time exceeds the first threshold comprises detecting an output of the comparator.

8. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim 1, wherein detecting the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor at a plurality of time points comprises detecting the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor at a rate less than 40 hertz.

9. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the eyelid occlusion sensor comprises an impedance sensor.

10. The ophthalmic device of claim 1, wherein the eyelid occlusion sensor comprises a light sensor.

11. An ophthalmic apparatus, comprising:

an eyelid occlusion sensor;

an adjustable lens; and

in response to determining that a level of noise in an output of the eyelid occlusion sensor during a specified time period prior to the first point in time is below a specified level, determining that a first gesture has occurred based on the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor;

in response to determining that the first posture has occurred, switching an optical power of the adjustable lens between a first optical power and a second optical power, wherein the first optical power is different from the second optical power;

determining that a second gesture has occurred based on the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor; and

in response to determining that the second gesture has occurred, setting an optical power of the adjustable lens to the first optical power.

12. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first pose has a first duration, and wherein the second pose has a second duration that is greater than the first duration.

13. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim 11, wherein detecting the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor at a plurality of time points comprises detecting the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor at a rate less than 40 hertz.

14. The ophthalmic device of claim 11, wherein the eyelid occlusion sensor comprises an impedance sensor.

15. The ophthalmic device of claim 11, wherein the eyelid occlusion sensor comprises a light sensor.

16. An ophthalmic method, comprising:

detecting an output of an eyelid occlusion sensor at a plurality of time points;

in response to determining that the first posture has occurred, switching an optical power of an adjustable lens between a first optical power and a second optical power, wherein the first optical power is different from the second optical power;

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first gesture has a first duration, and wherein the second gesture has a second duration that is greater than the first duration.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein detecting the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor at a plurality of time points comprises detecting the output of an eyelid occlusion sensor at a rate less than 40 hertz.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein determining, based on the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor, that a first gesture has occurred comprises:

determining, based on the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor, that an extent of occlusion of the eye increases during a first time period; and

determining that the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor at a first point in time differs from the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor at a second point in time by less than a specified amount, wherein the second point in time is after the first period of time.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

determining, based on the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor, that the increase in the degree of occlusion during the first period of time is not part of a blink, wherein adjusting the optical power of the adjustable lens is performed in response to determining that the increase in the degree of occlusion during the first period of time is not part of a blink.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein determining, based on the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor, that a first gesture has occurred comprises:

determining that the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor at the first point in time exceeds a first threshold.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein determining that a level of noise in the output of the eyelid occlusion sensor during the specified time period prior to the first point in time is below the specified level comprises detecting an output of a noise detector.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein determining that the detected output of the eyelid occlusion sensor at the first point in time exceeds the first threshold comprises detecting an output of a comparator.